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No Kovalchuk? No problem for Kings

Missing out on big-ticket free agent Ilya Kovalchuk is working out for the Kings, thanks in part to Plan B: defenseman Willie Mitchell. Craig Custance has more.

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Los Angeles Kings coach Terry Murray remembers his brief summer interaction with Ilya Kovalchuk as a pleasant one. There was a meeting with hockey's prized free agent over coffee in Los Angeles, during which Murray got the impression Kovalchuk was a great guy who wanted to win.

"He was excited about the possibility at the end of the day. But I've been around a few years. Until it's signed, sealed and delivered, you're just hoping things work out," Murray told Sporting News.

It didn't work out. At least, not in terms of closing the Kovalchuk deal.